Thursday, 22 May 2014

Welcome contemporary romance author, Suzanne Sweeney...

1)What is the best and worse thing you have learned from an
editor/agent?

I
have learned that the more people who read the manuscript before it's
published, the more polished and perfected it will be.I send my book out to no less than forty
beta readers who give me unfettered feedback that I find invaluable.Because I am intimately involved with
the characters and setting, I will occasionally gloss over details that the
reader needs in order to create a vivid mental image.I love it when those small imperfections are pointed out to
me so that I can fix them.If I've
done my job well, the only thing left for the editor to do is find grammatical
errors which are easy to fix.

2)What is your typical day?

Writing
is my second career and my third job.My day starts out with my first job as an elementary school
teacher.When I get home, my
second job consumes me - wife and mother.And finally, at the end of the day, I can slip into my world of writing,
my third job.If I stay on top of the
first two during the week, I can devote my weekends to writing.When I am lucky enough to get in two
full days of writing in a row, I am a very happy person!

3)What do you read while in the midst of a project? Or don’t you?

I
read when I get writer's block.It
helps me take time away from my obstacle and gets my imagination flowing.I will read anything that is available
at the moment.It might be a book
in the same genre, or perhaps a book with strong character development in a
completely different genre.

4)What
do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?

I haven't bought
paperback books in years.I prefer
hardcover or digital.But upon the
rare occasion when I do read a paperback, I bring it to school and leave it in
the teacher's workroom to share with my colleagues.

5)Are
you nervous about friends reading your book?

I love when my
friends read my books.They give
me the best feedback.I prefer
them to read it while I'm writing.I make changes as I go based upon their suggestions.However, because I'm an elementary
school teacher by day and romance novelist by night, I am concerned with my
students' parents reading my books.There are some scenes that would provide interesting discussions for
parent-teacher conference.

6)What
things inspire you to write? Location, music, film or even in a book?

It's impossible
for me to pin down my inspiration to any one thing!This particular series was inspired by other romance novels
where the setting played a crucial role, motivating me to write a story set in
more familiar surroundings.However, I cannot sit and write in complete silence.I have to have either a movie with a
great soundtrack playing or my current playlist echoing throughout the
room.My answer would have to be
"all of the above".

7)What’s next for you?

I'm finishing the third and final book in the series, "Running
Away With You" which is due to be released sometime this summer!

The Running Series

by Suzanne Sweeney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Running Back
to You:

Juliette Fletcher is a girl with a plan. Not one to sit back
and wait for life to happen, she moves back home after graduation and begins to
carve out a life for herself.

Evan McGuire is desperate for a fresh start. His career in
the NFL depends on it. Years of partying and carefree living have caught up
with him. After buying a beach house in need of renovations, he begins to
rebuild his life and his reputation.

What Evan doesn’t expect is a chance meeting with Juliette
out on an early morning beach run with her dog. A strong mutual attraction
draws them together, but fear of scaring her away keeps Evan from revealing his
true identity. Evan finds himself in an unfamiliar situation – forced to work
harder than he ever has before to prove himself worthy of her affections.

Tragic misunderstandings and unexpected obstacles threaten
to derail a fragile relationship. Someone is watching, waiting, and tormenting
Juliette, desperate to destroy everything. Can they find the strength to
overcome jealousy, insecurity, and fear before it’s too late?

Running Home
to You:

Running Home to You: continues the journey of Juliette and
Evan that began in “Running Back to You”.

Juliette Fletcher thought she had it all – a strikingly
handsome man who adores her, a new business venture with her best friends by
her side, and a dream house right on the beach. But appearances can be
deceiving and everything comes at a cost.

Evan McGuire has just survived a vicious attack that almost
ended his professional football career. He’s on the mends now, trying to piece
his life back together again, and build a life with Juliette.

But Evan’s erratic behavior has Juliette worried. She must
figure out how to save her struggling restaurant, her fragile friendships, and
her now unhealthy relationship with the man she loves. Juliette and Evan find
that they’ve placed their trust in the wrong people and the price they pay for
that mistake may ultimately cost them everything.

Running Home to You is the second book in the Running
Series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

Running Home to You excerpt from
Chapter 3:Behind Closed Doors

I’m torn from my daydream when I
feel that familiar tingle down my spine.Evan doesn’t have to make a sound or be anywhere in my line of vision
for me to know that he’s near.He
is a powerful magnet that draws me to him and I have no power to resist.It was like that almost immediately,
both of us drawn to the other in ways neither one can adequately explain.

Looking up from my laptop, I
catch him eying me with his sultry blue eyes.As we stare at each other, he flashes a sexy smile that
makes my heart skip a beat.The
sexy stubble on his chin begs me to caress it and I feel a sudden and urgent
need to feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek.He turns his back to me as he pours himself a cup of
coffee.He’s standing bare-chested
and barefooted, wearing nothing but a pair of drawstring pajama pants that hang
low on his waist.After nearly
three months, I know I should be used to the vision of his beautiful body, but
seeing his bare feet and bed head has me yearning for more.I seem to be falling more deeply in
love with him with each day that passes.

He knows I’m watching him.He stretches his arms above his head,
flexing his tight back muscles, feigning a yawn, and checking over his shoulder
for my reaction.With no power to
resist him, and no desire to, either, I quickly close my laptop and march
straight towards him.I wrap my
arms around his waist and lay my head against his back.Evan slips from my hold and turns to
face me.“I don’t like waking up
alone, Juliette,” he says, planting a sweet kiss on my lips.

I snuggle up to his warm embrace,
“You looked so peaceful.I didn’t
have the heart to wake you.”

His tongue darts out to wet his
dry lips, sending another cold shiver right through me to my core.“Well, I’m up now,” he tells me,
rubbing up against me and showing me in no uncertain terms exactly how ‘up’ he
is.

“Listen, chief, I took the whole
day off because you told me you had plans for us for the day.Do your plans include us hanging out
here at home, naked all day?” I tease him.

“That wasn’t my original plan,
but to hear you say it like that, it does sound like a very enticing idea,” he
confesses. His hand searches beneath my top and makes contact with my bare
skin, immediately creating tingly goose bumps that race across my skin.Evan kisses me softly with slow, deep
licks.His unrestrained desire and
appetite explode across my senses, and I whimper, giving in and relenting to
his possession.

AUTHOR Bio and
Links:

Suzanne Sweeney is a
graduate of Georgian Court University where she studied Elementary Education
and Sociology. For some time now, she has been sharing her love of literature
with the young minds who sit before her in class each and every day. After
years of teaching the art of writing, Suzanne has finally taken her own advice
and put pen to paper in order to produce her debut novel, Running Back to You.
She writes what she lives, residing in the community she loves, Point Pleasant,
with her family who provide a constant source of inspiration and support.